Serving and Leading For The Glory of Our Creator

Changing the Narrative Might Mean Influencing the Culture

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”-Romans 12:2

When Christ came to the earth He came with the primary purpose of reconciling creation back to their Creator. He came to reveal hope and purpose to a people who had lost hope and did not understand their reason for being here.

One of the main ways Christ revealed His mission was by challenging status quo. He did not conform to the ways of the world, but worked to shift the way people lived in the world. He did not rest on what was accepted, but influenced what was acceptable in the eyes of God.

You see, He did not want to allow the culture of the time and what was influencing culture to infiltrate the hearts and mind of His people. So, He started to show how life was meant for so much more and the people of the world were capable of more than what they were doing at the time.

I believe He is still trying to reveal that same message today. I believe He is waiting for His people to rise up and leverage their influence to begin shifting culture that has allowed for pain and suffering to reign in so many lives.

The issue is, before we can try to shift culture in the world, the culture of the Church has to transform. The culture of the Church has become complacent. We have allowed the world to view us and define in certain ways without trying to change their perspective.

We have allowed a narrative to be written about us that is not cohesive with the gospel of Christ nor the purpose of the Church He laid out for us in scripture. We have allowed for ourselves to rest in our salvation, but forgot that salvation should cause us to move into the world to share the good news of what we have discovered.

The narrative being written has defined Christians as hateful, racists, anti-everything, hypocrites, and much more. We have to change it!

This means, people who are followers of Jesus begin to rise up and show unconditional love and service to all people. We no longer sit and allow the few people who claim Christ, but have no clue what it means to follow Him, to speak on our behalf. We shift our identity.

That means pastors start challenging culture within the church they lead. It means people within the church begin to challenge those who hold firm to old ways, or do not welcome new thoughts and ideas, with new thoughts and ideas. It means followers of Christ begin to walk in their communities in search of ways to show and share the gospel of Christ. They stop waiting for people to enter their doors before talking to them about who Christ has created them to be.

This culture change within the Church would then begin the narrative change outside of the church.

If you don’t want stereotypes to define you, then influence change in your culture to create new stereotypes.

We should be pursuing cultural change, not complacency. Christ did not look at the world and say, “Well, that’s just the way it is. I’ll die, but I don’t expect change.”

NO! He came to say this is how it is, but I am showing you and telling you how it should be. The only way it will become what I am showing and defining is when my followers decide to live by what I have taught.

May we be a part of change. May we be a part of cultural shift. May we be a light to a dark world. May we change the narrative of Christians in the world by creating change in our church culture.

Let us use our influence to better society and move through the world showing a new way to live.

Peace and blessings friends.

QUESTION: Good or bad, how can you see the church influencing the culture around you?